It’s been a struggle to see good things happening in Oregon’s public defender crisis. The numbers of defendants without an attorney in Oregon increased even as the state invested more money into public defense.

But we did hear some cautious optimism Tuesday from Angela Curtis, trial court administrator in Deschutes County. She said the firms that provide public defenders have been able to fill all their open positions. Other attorneys in the county, who don’t typically handle such cases, have also stepped into help.

She said it will take a while to get new employees trained and established. There is a backlog of some 150 defendants to work through, as well as new ones that will need representation. And every day that defendants are without legal representation can mean justice delayed for them and for victims. It can mean defendants are released from jail, no matter their crime, just because they don’t have an attorney.

Still, it’s progress where progress and optimism about the outlook for public defenders has been slim.